Page 14 of Crossing Quinn

Chapter Three

Our bolt-hole consisted of four rooms: the command center, a storeroom, armory, and sleeping quarters. I eyed the additional biosuits hanging on the wall. Papa said the Askole were the finest armorers in the galaxy. For normal-size people. Since I was so small, he had been forced to buy me a child-size biosuit. The one thing I did like about the suit was it shrank down to a thick metal belt when not in use.

With one touch, my biosuit shrank away, revealing the red body suit I wore beneath it. A sigh of relief broke from me. Qeeturah’s average temperature was 129 degrees, pushing my suit’s cooling system to the brink. Some days it felt like I was being baked alive.

Wiping at the sweat running down my forehead, I hurried over to the control console and placed my hand on the sensor pad.

A mechanical voice said, “Bioform identity confirmed. Please enter passcode.”

I punched in my code.

“Welcome, Xenia.”Lights danced across the command console. “Systems activated. Warning. The city is being scanned for life forms.”

“Acknowledged.” Papa had installed the best shielding credits could buy. Nilus could scan all he wanted, but he would never find me. I on the other hand, could scan their ship and identify the occupants. I studied the life-form readings. Sure enough, Nilus was onboard the ship, along with ten armored warriors and crew. Better see what were they doing. Tapping an icon, I brought the surveillance cameras on line.

On the main view screen, my uncle was disrobing. Dolon’s flabby body was covered in oozing sores, and blisters sprouted all over his bright red face. Rage vibrated through every cell of my body. I wanted him dead. Mami would be upset that I enjoyed watching the bastard suffer and horrified that I planned on killing him. But he deserved to die.

I touched the control icon again and brought up the area around the graveyard. Nilus’s heavily armed warriors were checking the downed ships. Any survivors they found, they executed.

Drekk. I wasn’t surprised that Nilus had become a grave robber. Last year, the glory hound told the entire galaxy he had found a star chart that showed where Qeeturah was located and invited the news media to accompany him on his quest to find the Nabateans’ lost world.

If Nilus had done the proper tests, he would have discovered the map was a fake. A fake my father had made. Papa didn’t like the way Nilus treated Mami and decided to teach him some humility. And he did. Nilus’s Folly was the term the news media used. The Federation was not pleased and suspended his membership for a year. How had he gotten his hands on that ship? Had Gemi, his lover and fellow Federation member, arranged it?

My idiot uncle had handed Nilus the perfect opportunity for revenge and a way to reclaim his status as a prominent archeologist. He would claim Mami’s find as his own and take the treasure. The first logical move would be to get rid of any witnesses who could testify we had gotten here first. Dolon’s big mouth was going to get us all killed.

I scanned the warriors’ battle suits. Once again, Nilus hadn’t done his research. The armor wouldn’t protect his warriors from the lethal radiation or the var bugs. I snorted in disbelief when some of them removed their helmets. Dumb move. It only took twenty minutes to get sun poisoning.

As much as I hated to admit it, I needed help. Our ship had been destroyed, leaving us stranded on this planet. I was outmanned and outgunned. I had to find Papa, protect Mami, and evade Nilus’s warriors and Dolon. Plus, protect the Nabatean’s city. An impossible task. Just getting Mami out of Dolon’s ship was going to be difficult, and if they were shooting at us, she would be facedown in the sand.

Drekk. Detja could send help, but they wouldn’t arrive for two weeks. Once I had rescued my mother, I couldn’t leave her alone to search for Papa. She would do something incredibly stupid and get us all captured. The only option was Quinn Jones. He had to be close to this solar system by now, and I could really use his teleporting skills. But I didn’t have his comm link code. I typed in Detja’s and waited.

Detja appeared on the screen, took one look at my face, and said, “What happened?”

I told her everything.

She frowned. “You can’t link with your father?”

“No. I—” My voice broke, “I can’t sense him at all.”

“The Overlord always suspected Nilus was a tomb robber. Unfortunately, he was never able to get any proof. Link me into your scanners.”

I did as she requested. That explained why so many of the Federation’s sites were plundered. Nilus used his position to get his raiders in before legitimate relic hunters could arrive. Jeebito or Tabaw had to have been Nilus’s partner in crime. And my black-hearted uncle hired both of them.

Detja studied her screens. “Quinn, are you receiving the data?”

“I am.”

Detja pushed an icon on her command console. A small window popped up on my view screen, and Quinn appeared. “Your uncle has a lot to answer for,” he rumbled.

“He does,” I agreed, rubbing my aching jaw.

Quinn scowled. “He hit you?”

“No, he wrecked our flitter with me in it.”

Detja’s mouth tightened into a grim line. “Did Dolon survive the crash?”

“Unfortunately, but on the bright side, he doesn’t have long to live.” I switched to the security feed of the passageway. My uncle was completely naked and scratching feverishly.

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